Riverview Cafe

Had flounder & shrimp lunch special with two sides. Complimentary apple crisp. Very reasonably priced & good portions. It was delicious. Our waitress did an awesome job!

A little on the pricey side but with a good waterfront view. Staff was super nice and the food was great! The best hush puppies around. We even took a couple slices of pie for later. Definitely would recommend. Bön appetit!

We’ve been to the Riverview a few times and it was underwhelming at best today. The host was borderline unpleasant, although our waitress was very eager to please and did a great job. The catfish was the best of the dishes our party of five ordered, but the grouper was overcooked, the fried shrimp were greasy, the hush puppies didn’t seem freshly prepared and the crinkle cut French fries, which clearly came from a bag, were still cold in the center. Other than the catfish, the cole slaw was the best item on the table. Might come back for lunch sometime if I’m craving catfish, but I’ll probably go somewhere else for dinner or if we want to take guests out for a nice dinner.

Everything is fried, tastes the same, and is dried out. I don’t know why people have given this place such great reviews… Disappointing.

First off, they need a dedicated hostess. The night I was there I waited 10 min until someone noticed that I was waiting to be seated. Our waitress was great and super friendly which was about the only saving grace for me, that and the crab dip. The crab dip was really good. However, I am not a fan of a sit down restaurant that gives you 2 pack crackers to use for your crab dip and fast food packets of mayo. I got the fried shrimp, and instead of nice crispy fried shrimp I got battery-​mushy shrimp.
My better half got the broiled seasoned scallops and they were good as well as the hush puppies that they serve.
But if you’re going to specialize in seafood, make sure it’s good all around.

Our party of 23 adults went to Riverview Café last night. It was great! Very fresh seafood and reasonable prices. The hush puppies were great. The only complaint out of the whole group was that some didn’t love the clam chowder… But they were expecting New England style and it wasn’t. And my husband didn’t love his steak (but who orders steak at a seafood place anyways?). All of the appetizers that we tried were great (the hot crab dip was amazing!) and my fried shrimp were awesome. The chocolate and coconut pies were fabulous too. I will definitely be back on a future visit to the area. The staff was all great too. Very helpful and very accommodating.

Yummiest hushpuppies ever. Ran out of almost all sides. All they had left was applesauce and French fries. Potato salad was actually mashed potatoes with some paprika and relish tossed in… Shameful! Salmon was pretty good.

Perfect classic beach seafood. Everything is perfectly cooked, staff are awesome, and setting is beautiful. It’s been around forever, and there’s a reason! We will definitely come here every time we are at the beach. Yum!!!

The food was ok, but the prices were ridiculous. We asked for kids size meals and were charged regular adult size prices. Dinner for 2 adults and 3 kids ended up costing us 137.00 dollars including taxes and tip. We would have eaten cat fish and shrimp for half that at Cracker Barrel and eaten on real plates not plastic cafeteria dishes on a funky looking dingy joint. Ask twice to make sure what you’re getting if you are crazy enough to eat there! We will NEVER go to that place again! EVER!

After reading reviews on here I expected MUCH more than what I found. WAY overpriced, with the food being of lower quality than an Old Country Buffet outing during a slow day where the food is sitting under the lights for half the day. Who is giving this place five stars? Have you ever eaten anywhere else, ever? Not to mention that the place is in serious need of updating and a cleaning. If you are going to charge this much for food… how about acting like you give a shit about your product.

Even though this place was 45 minutes out of the way we made the journey out to BFE and it was absolutely worth the trek! Julianna was our server and was smiling, friendly and helpful the whole time. We split a seafood platter and got a small pot of steamed oysters and everything was scrumptious. The seafood is the freshest of anywhere you can go and while it may not be good for your waistline it’s most definitely good for the soul! While the décor is far from glamorous you can enjoy your fresh fish with a unobstructed view of the water. We had a great time and can’t wait to come back next time we’re in Topsail.

Fried oysters are a no go. The broiled shrimp, hush puppies, flounder, broiled scallops were good. Cole slaw was awesome!
Loved the crab legs!
The employees were super nice & did a wonderful job. Felt like family.

Had lunch here today. Kind of a let down. Quality of food was ok. Over-​priced for what you get.
We ordered calamari, mahi-​mahi and shrimp with clam strips. Calamari was seasoned just fine and tasted good. The mahi was a very small portion for the price and salty. My shrimp tasted fine as did the clam strips.
Overall it didn’t live up to it’s Unilocal hype. A lot of long-​time regulars given the average age of patrons.

Vacationing in North Topsail Beach and was looking for some fresh seafood. Saw the reviews on Unilocal and decided to give it a try. The food was yummy!
Hush puppies were great. My favorite part of the meal was the fried mushrooms and homemade ranch dressing. Delicious! The mushrooms were made from scratch and not the typical frozen ones. The best part of the experience was our server, Juliana. She was super friendly and very knowledgeable about the menu. She made us feel right at home.
The decide is nothing fancy but if you want s tasty fresh seafood meal then this is the place to go

Fresh seafood, canned veggies, and southern sweet tea! Hit the spot!
The prices were very reasonable compared to comparable quality meals in the Wrightsville Beach area (about 50 mi South). The hush puppies were brought out a soon as we were seated and were piping hot.
I ordered the broiled flounder and shrimp with a deviled crab. The flounder filets (2 full filets) and the shrimp had great flavor. The deviled crab was delicious, but it wasn’t much bigger than a silver dollar. For my sides, I ordered green beans and cole slaw. Entirely to much to eat, but enjoyable!

We were told by the handful of beach goers at Topsail Island this was the best seafood in the area.
Upon arrival, it was like most beach restaurants, very plain and average environment. No issues with that as some of the best places are exactly like this.
It took some time for our waitress to finally get our drink order. Although the place was almost packed, we saw the other wait staff taking good care of their tables. We just happened to get someone who was let’s say, a little slow of foot.
The menu was typical and had plenty of seafood offerings in addition to steak and other basics.
Our waitress eventually go to us to take our drink orders.
After the drinks and hush puppies were served by another waitress and all of our questions were sufficiently answered by her, we endured another wait and finally our waitress arrived to take our order. She quoted different (higher) prices for combos than the other waitress had provided so there was some confusion. We finally all placed the orders we wanted and remained patient.
When the food did arrive, again it seemed like other tables were receiving much more efficient service, my wife’s order was incorrect and they had added a third item, not the two item combo she ordered. In addition, there were no french fries and the servers (again not our waitress but the manager and another waitress) did not even notice.
The food was way too salty and very average at best. The scallops we all ordered still had the tags left on them. This is scallops preparation 101, remove the tags! The tab for the four of us was $ 100, well over priced for both the less than average service and food. Others have given this place good reviews. Maybe we hit a bad night or something but we won’t give this place a second chance.

Why does everyone think this place is so great???
I’m totally confused!
NO STEAMERS AT 5:30pm? How’s that possible?
The size of the shrimp on my broiled dinner (they charge more to broil) was a joke. Tiny!!!
Oh! & not to mention, my $ 25.00 dish was served on a divided plastic plate!!!
Service was also terrible.
Bad food. Bad service.
Don’t bother eating here.
Unilocal needs to add a half a star.

We have been coming to this restaurant for what seems like forever. It has never lets us down. If you ever want to eat delicious, hot and fresh seafood, this is the restaurant you want to come to. The portions are good and the wait staff are friendly. They keep their fantastic hush puppies coming! Yum!

I like the old meat and three combo plate especially when one of the three is a big bowl of lump crab to compliment my grilled mahi. Delicious.
Yes it’s a bit out of the way but you want to find it. It’s an unpretentious place with friendly and helpful staff. The view is indeed nice.
The Calabash is good but pay attention to the specials. They are numerous and listed on a large white board.
Even in a tropical storm the people rush to take their mothers to the Riverview Café. That’s really all you need to know.

It will say too much about my age if I admit that I’ve been going to the Riverview Café for more than 40 years; of course, it is also true.
If anything, the food has gotten better with time. Last night I had a three seafood platter with fish, shrimp, and scallops. The seafood was all piping hot when it arrived at our table. Delicious.
I used to worry when dining with landlovers at seafood places – concerned their food would be an after thought. Not a problem here; my husband had a delicious plate of equally freshly fried chicken. Divine!
Stuffed as we were, the desserts still called our name, and we split a piece of chocolate meringue pie… While still quite tasty, our pie seemed a little grainy. Next time we will skip dessert or try the coconut pie.
The seafood offerings on Topsail Island are fine, but the Riverview Café is worth the shot drive to Snead’s Ferry.